Bark River Knife and Tool Bushcrafter and Ultra-Light Bushcrafter Named Official School Knives!

Official School Knife of Estela Wilderness Education, The Bark River Knife and Tool Bushcrafter

It brings me great pleasure to announce the official school knives of Estela Wilderness Education. These knives have been carried by me personally for multiple seasons and have surpassed all of my expectations. Chosen for their exceptional edge retention, comfort in the hand for extended cutting tasks, simplicity in form that lends itself to ease of use in a variety of grips and a warranty that will back them up for life, these knives deliver great value for an affordable price. The Bark River Knife and ToolBushcrafter is the standard school knife while the Bark River Knife and Tool Ultra-light Bushcrafter (ULB) is a smaller scaled down size available for those with smaller hands (women/youth) or those who wish to utilize it as a neck knife or backup in their pack. While I have access to many knives from many makers, I put absolute faith and trust in these from Bark River Knives. They receive my highest recommendation and biggest damn seal of approval!

Kevin showing a method of feather stick making

Both Bushcrafter and ULB feature CPM3v steel construction that is a carbon steel but with great attributes not found in standard (O1 and 1095 for example) non-stainless steels. Both knives are available in a variety of handle materials and although there isn’t an official type I recommend, black and green, black and natural micartas are my favorites. The type of grind on these knives is called “Scandivex” which is a hybrid grind marrying a short flat grind commonly known as a Scandi with the strength of the convex grind/edge that puts the maximum amount of carbides behind the edge. Thickness is just right on both of these and they are far from the “sharpened pry bars” some makers insist on. The knives I’ve chosen have been chosen because they work. Their form is completely backed up by their function and you will not have to regrind or sharpen these when they come from the factory. I recommend light stropping after each use on black compound then polishing on green compound. Of course, if you don’t maintain your knives, you can always send them back to the factory for free sharpening for life. Just pay the return shipping cost.

Official School Knife of Estela Wilderness Education, The Bark River Knife and Tool Ultra-Light Bushcrafter

These knives should be your primary knife but by no means do I recommend carrying just one type of blade. Compliment these with a multi-function pocket knife/tool, a large chopping tool depending on the season and a good buck saw. As a primary knife, you will find ways of utilizing these blades for many cutting task but never abuse your knife by making it do more than it is intended to do. You will find methods to use just the belly or tip and ways to choke back on the grip for snap cutting through some material. You’ll be amazed how strong and how well these knives work for just about any bushcraft and survival task. I have been amazed and that is why I am confident in having my Burning Star logo stenciled on the flat of the blade.

To purchase one of these knives, I recommend buying through DLT Trading. They are located in Michigan and the Owner, Jason, is a supporter of EWE and the Estela Wilderness Education Fund. When you order one, specify “Estela Special” and it will be stenciled before being sent to you. Please keep in mind as well that in the near future, a limited run of EWE Charity Knives will be available with a portion of each knife sale going directly to the EWE Fund. When you like how the Bushcrafter and ULB handle, maybe you will consider one of those as well.

Finally, if you require more reading about these knives before you commit to one or both, I suggest the following reviews hyperlinked here and here. I hear the guy that wrote them is pretty cool, good looking, charismatic and a real stud when it comes to outdoor skills (wink wink). I hope you will enjoy using your’s as much as I do mine.